Seam locator for sizing draperies

ABSTRACT

A drapery sizer and a seam and return or overlap registering system. The drapery sizer includes upper and lower frames carrying upper and lower fingers proportioned and designed to receive therebetween portions, respectively, of the upper and the lower edges of a drapery. The upper fingers define pleat receiving spacers therebetween and the lower fingers are proportioned and designed to engage therebetween lengths of the lower edge portion corresponding respectively to the pleats. Indicia means are placed on the lower fingers to identify positions thereon corresponding respectively to predetermined positions on the pleats. The registering system includes first means for registering the identity of each pleat in which each vertical seam of the drapery appears, second means for registering the position at which such a seam appears in such a pleat, and third means for registering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portion of the drapery together with cooperating control means for determining and registering the amount of return or overlap at the lower edge portion of the drapery.

United States Patent Reed [54] SEAM LOCATOR FOR SIZING DRAPERIES [72]Inventor: Howard D. Reed, 4310 Sunrise Road, Indianapolis, Ind. 46208[22] Filed: May 26, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 146,912

[52] US. Cl ..38/ 102.5 [51] Int. Cl ..D06c 3/08 [58] Field of Search..38'/l02, 102.5, 102.1, 102.4

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,305,853 12/1942 Eger eta1. ..38/102.5 2,699,010 l/1955 Reed ..38/102.5

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorneyl-lood, Gust, Irish, Lundy &Coffey [57] ABSTRACT A drapery sizer and a seam and return or overlapregistering system. The drapery sizer includes upper and lower framescarrying upper and lower fingers proportioned and designed to receivetherebetween portions, respectively, of the upper and the lower edges ofa drapery. The upper fingers define pleat receiving spacers therebetweenand the lower fingers are proportioned and designed to engagetherebetween lengths of the lower edge portion correspondingrespectively to the pleats. lndicia means are placed on thelower fingersto identify positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on the pleats. The registering system includesfirst means for registering the identity of each pleat in which eachvertical seam of the drapery appears, second means for registering theposition at which such a seam appears in such a pleat, and third meansfor registering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edgeportion of the drapery together with cooperating control means fordetermining and registering the amount of return or overlap at the loweredge portion of the drapery.

13 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SEAM SEAM SEAM SEAM 7a 5 e 'AM SEAM 7 aSEAM SEAM SEAM SEAM SEAM LOCATOR FOR SIZING DRAPERIES' This invention isin the field of drapery sizing.

To my knowledge, no one has heretofore devised, for use withconventional drapery sizing equipment, means for registering theidentity of each pleat in which each vertical seam of the draperyappears, means for registering the position at which such a seam appearsin such a pleat and means for, registering the depth of the return andoverlap at the upper edge portion of the drapery together withcooperating control means for determining and registering the properamount of return and overlap at the lower edge portion of such adrapery.

I refer to'my prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,010 issued Jan. I1, 1955. Thisprior patent discloses and claims a drapery sizer which has been widelyused in the drapery cleaning industry and which has significantlyimproved the manner in which drapes appear after cleaning and sizing andwhich has significantly reduced the amount of time required to clean andsize a drapery. My drapery sizer includes a cabinet, upper and lowerframes disposed in the cabinet, at least one of the frames beingshiftable selectively to determine the spacing therebetween for sizingdraperies to the proper length and means for shifting the frames.Usually, and in accordance with my prior invention, the upper frame isvertically movable relative to the lower frame. The upper frame carriesa plurality of laterally spaced apart first fingers for engaging theupper edge portion of a drapery and the lower frame carries a pluralityof laterally spaced apart second fingers for engaging the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, the first fingers ferential between theconnection of the top of the drapery to the upper frame and theconnection of the bottom of the drapery to the lower frame, that thereis a considerable amount of difficulty in relating the amount of overlapof the lower fingers to the number and spacing of the pleats at theupper edge of the drapery, and that the proper amount of return oroverlap at the lower edge portion of the drapery is difficult foroperators to determine; With the indicia means that I place on theoverlapping fingers of the lower frame, operators of my drapery sizersusing my present invention can accurately locate each vertical seam ofthe drapery relative to the overlapping fingers and they can quickly andaccurately makethe proper return or overlap settings at the lower edgeportion of the drapery.

Other objects and features of my present invention will become apparentas this description progresses.

To the accomplishment of the above and related ob-v 2 jects, myinvention may be embodied in the form illusdefining pleat receivingspaces therebetween proportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats ofsuch draperies are disposed respectively in adjacent spaces, and thesecond fingers being proportioned and designed to engage therebetweenlengths of such lower edge portion corresponding respectively to thepleats. My present invention comprises a seam locating system includingindicia means placed on the said second fingers identifying positionsthereon corresponding respectively to predetermined positions on suchpleats, a plurality of first means for registering the identity of eachpleat in which each vertical seam of such a drapery appears, and aplurality of second means for registering the position at which such aseam appears in such a pleat. My present invention also may comprise aplurality of third means for registering the depth of the return oroverlap at the upper edge portion of such a drapery and cooperatingcontrol means for determining and registering the proper amount ofreturn or overlap at the lower edge portion of such a drapery, thecontrol means being operatively connected to and operated respectivelyby the said third means.

It is an object of my present invention significantly to reduce theamount of time required to install properly a drapery in a sizingapparatus by giving the operator a registering and computing devicewhich will register certain required information as the operatorconnects the upper portion of the drapery to the upper frame and thenprovide the proper information when the operator is connecting the loweredge portion of the drapery to the lower frame. It will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art and familiar with equipment such asdisclosed in my said prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,010 that there may be aconsiderable time diftrated in the accompanying drawings, attentionbeing called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrativeonly, and that change may be made in the specific constructionillustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claimsis not violated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of my registering system;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken from FIG. 1 generally alongthe lines 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatical view of a conventional drapery pleat showingvarious predetermined locations thereon, each of which is assigned alocation number;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, sectional plan view of the upper frame of adrapery sizer showing how the upper edge portion of a drapery is engagedby the fingers carried on the upper frame;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional plan view of the lower frame of adrapery sizer showing the overlapping fingers carried on the lower frameand the manner in which the lower edge portion of the drapery is engagedby the overlapping fingers;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary view showing the overlapping fingersof the lower frame with indicia means identifying positions thereoncorresponding respectively to the predetermined positions as shown inFIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing, diagrammatically, thesizing of a drapery and particularly the relationship of a lower edgeportion of the drapery relative to the upper edge portion of thedrapery.

Referring first to FIG. 3, it will be seen that I have illustrateddiagrammatically a conventional drapery pleat. It will be appreciatedthat a plurality of such pleats are provided along the upper edge ofconventional draperies. I have assigned position identification numbers18, respectively, to eight different positions on the length of thedrapery material which comprises the pleat and the material on each sideof the pleat. The manner in which pleats are formed and sewn is wellknown and need not be discussed, in detail, herein. My present inventionis not limited to a particular type of pleat in that I can assign suchposition identification numbers to any type of conventional pleat. Eachof these positions 1-8 corresponds to a position on the lower edge ofthe drapery such that, if the pleat were taken out of the upper edge ofthe drapery, a straight vertical line could be drawn from each position1-8 at the upper edge of the drapery to its corresponding position atthe lower edge of the drapery. It will be appreciated, therefore, thatthe upper'edge portion of a drapery is pleated or gathered and that thelower edge portion of the drapery is much fuller or greater in length.

When a drapery is sized, each segment of the lower edge portion of thedrapery corresponding to a pleat in the upper edge portion of thedrapery must be held in vertical registry with the pleat so that thedraperies will hang straight or vertically when taken out of the sizerand again mounted on the usual traverse rods.

Many draperies are quite large and formed by sewing together panels ofdrapery material. Then, the upper edge portion of the drapery ispleated. The vertically extending seams between the panels then appeareither in a pleat or in the spaces between a pleat. It is of the utmostimportance to the proper sizing of a drapery that these seams be sizedor pulled perfectly straight. If they are not, the appearance of thedrapery, after sizing, will be entirely unsatisfactory.

A drapery sizer is completely disclosed in my said prior US. Pat. No.2,699,010. The following description is directed toward those parts of adrapery sizer which work in conjunction with my present invention.

The drapery sizer includes a cabinet, walls of which are indicated bythe reference numeral 20, and an upper frame 22 disposed in the cabinetfor generally vertical reciprocation. The upper frame carries aplurality of laterally spaced apart first fingers 24 for engaging theupper edge portion of a drapery, the illustrated fingers 24 havingdistal ends engageable with a support member 26 and their proximal endsmounted for pivotalmovement about a horizontally extending rod 28carried on the frame 22. As disclosed in my said prior patent, eachfinger 24 may be proportioned and designed to pivot downwardly asindicated by the arrow so that its distal end will engage and hold aportion of the drapery against the support member 26. Further, thefingers 24 are loosely mounted on the rod 28 such that they are axiallymovable along the rod. Means, not shown, is provided for urging thefingers 24 together as indicated by the arrow 30 to grip the portions ofthe drapery disposed between the fingers.

The entire frame 22 is movable vertically upwardly to a selected heightcorresponding to the height of the drapery, the frame 22 being guided,for instance, by means such as the guide member 32 which extends througha vertically extending slot 34, in the cabinet wall 20 (FIG. 4).

The specimen drapery in the drawings is indicated by the referencenumeral and it is folded to have what isreferred to as returns oroverlaps 42, 44. The upper edge portion of the drapery 40 is providedwith a plurality of pleats formed in accordance with the drawing of FIG.3.

The first fingers 24 define pleat receiving spaces 48 therebetweenproportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats of the drapery 40 aredisposed respectively in adjacent spaces 48. This is clearly illustratedin FIG. 4.

The drapery sizerincludes a lower frame 50 which is disposed below andin vertical registry with the upper frame 22, the lower frame carrying aplurality of second fingers. In the illustrative embodiment, the secondfingers include a plurality of overlapping fingers 52, 54 mounted,respectively, for pivotal movement about their proximal ends on paralleland horizontally extending rods 56, 58. The distal ends of theoverlapping fingers 52, 54 rest upon a'support member 60 (FIG. 7).

The amount of overlap of the fingers 52, 54 is provided by a drivemechanism including, for instance, the drive screw 62 which is driven bya drive shaft 63 and a worm 64 carried by the drive shaft. Particularly,the spacing between the two rods 56, 58 and, consequently, the amount ofoverlap of the fingers 52, 54 is provided by selectively adjustablemovement of the fingers as indicated by the arrow 65.

The lower edge portion of the drapery 40 is disposed about the distalends of the fingers 52, 54 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The amount ofoverlap of the fingers 52, 54 is determined by the number, size andspacing of the pleats at the upper edge of the drapery.

The second fingers 52, 54 are proportioned and designed to engagetherebetween lengths of the lower edge portion of the drapery 40corresponding respectively to the pleats. The length of drapery wrappedabout the distal end of each finger 52 corresponds, respectively, to thedrapery wrapped around-the distal end of the corresponding finger 24 andthe length of drapery wrapped around the distal end of each finger 54corresponds respectively to the length of drapery formed in the pleat inthe corresponding space 48.

After the lower edge portion of the drapery 40 is folded about thedistal ends of the fingers 52, 54 as shown in FIG. 5, then the fingersare pressed together by means (not shown) applying a force in thedirection of the arrow 50 so that the lower edge portion of the draperyis tightly connected to the frame 50 while the upper edge portion of thedrapery is tightly connected to the frame 22. At that point, asdisclosed in my said prior patent, the cabinet is closed and steam isadmitted thereto while the two frames 22, 50 are held at the desireddistance apart to provide the proper drapery height. After the steam isapplied for a desired amount of time, the steam is shut off and dry airis admitted to the cabinet to dry the draperies.

I One objective of my present invention is to provide means to assurethat the vertical seams of a drapery are held properly during the sizingoperation so that the drapery will hang straight. A vertical seam willappear at or adjacent to one of the numbered positions relative to apleat shown in FIG. 3. In an extremely large drapery, there may beseveral vertical seams. Thus, the operator of the drapery sizer mustknow the identity of each pleat in which a seam appears as well as theposition of the scam in such a pleat. My present invention comprisesfirst means for registering the identity of each pleat in which such avertical seam appears and second means for registering the position atwhich such a seam appears in such a pleat. My registering systemincludes indicia means placed upon the second fingers 52, 54 asillustrated in FIG. 6. The numbered positions on the fingers 52, 54 inFIG. 6 correspond respectively to the numbered positions in FIG. 3. If avertical seam appears at any one of the numbered positions shown in FIG.3 in or adjacent a pleat, then the seam must appear adjacent the samenumberedposition on the corresponding fingers 52, 54 therebelow. Forinstance, if a seam appears in position number 3 in a pleat at the upperedge of the drapery 40, then, in order for that drapery to be properlysized, the seam must appear adjacent the position number 3 on the finger54in vertical registry with the space 48 in which the pleat is disposed.

My present invention also includes third means for registering theamount of return or overlap 42, 44 at the top of the drapery andcooperating control means for determining and registering the amount ofreturn or overlap at the bottom of the drapery. Particularly, thecontrol means determines the amount that each return or overlap is to beincreased or decreased with respect to normal at the bottom of thedrapery. Whether the overlap or return is to be increased or decreasedat the bottom of the drapery depends upon the size of each pleat, thespacing between pleats and, consequently, the overlapping of the fingers52, 54.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that my registeringsystem includes a vertically elongated box 71, the vertical length ofwhich may be selected to suit the particular sizer. The box includes afront face which is visible to the operator of the sizer, which frontface is provided with a plurality of spaced apart vertically elongatedslots through which manually movable wheels partially extend and aplurality of spaced apart apertures as will be discussed hereinafter. Inaccordance with the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, there isprovided means for registering information concerning eight seams, andthe front face of the box 71 is printed or otherwise marked to showidentification of seams 1-8. For each of seams 1-8, there is a firstmeans for registering the number of the pleat in which the seam appearsand second means for registering the position (FIG. 3) at which such aseam appears in the pleat. Each illustrative first means includes afirst wheel or rotor means 72 associated with the upper frame 22 and afirst wheel or rotor means 74 associated with the lower frame 50,carrier means 75 trained about the wheels 72, 74 and means, such as thefront face of the box 71, providing a first upper aperture 76 associatedwith the upper frame and a first lower aperture 78 associated with thelower frame. The carrier means 75 carries pleat-identifying indiciaspaced along its length so that the indicia visible through the upperaperture 76 corresponds to the indicia visible through the correspondinglower aperture 78.

Then, in the illustrative embodiment, each second means includes asecond such wheel or rotor means 80 associated with the upper frame 22and a second such wheel or rotor means (not shown) associated with thelower frame 50, carrier means (not shown) trained about the secondwheels, and means, such as the face of the box 71, providing a secondupper aperture 82 associated with the upper frame and a second loweraperherein, is an endless means trained about a reducedportion 73 of.the wheel72, under a pin and another pin 92, about a reduced portion ofthe wheel 74, over a pin 94, under a pin 96, under a pin 98 and thenover a pin 100 back to the reduced portion 73. The endless means may beprovided, for instance, by strips of tape joined together by elasticpieces such asindicated at 102, 104 to provide the necessary tension.

Identifying letters or numbers or other indicia means may be printed orotherwise placed upon the surface of the carrier means 75 so that thenumber appearing in the upper aperture 76 also appears in the lower,corresponding aperture 78. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 1, seam1 appears in the third pleat and in the number 4 position of that pleatbecause the number 3 appears in the apertures 76, 78 for seam 1 and thenumber 4 appears in the apertures 82, 84 for seam 1.

The illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a plurality ofthird means for registering the amount of a plurality of returns oroverlaps at the upper edge portion of the drapery and cooperatingcontrol means for determining and registering the proper amount of eachreturn or overlap at the lower edge portion of thedrapery, each of theeight illustrated third means and cooperating control means beingindicated generally by the reference numeral 110. Each means includes amanually movable wheel or rotor means 111, means such as the face of thebox 71, providing an aperture 112 associated with the upper frame 22 andan aperture 114 associated with the lower frame 50. Carrier means 116,similar to the above described means 75, is trained about the reducedportion 118 of each wheel 111 and a corresponding wheel or rotor means120 as best seen in FIG. 2. Each carrier means 116 carries indiciavisible through its associated apertures 1-12, 114 which are, as viewedin FIG. 1, in vertical registry.

The wheels 72, 80 and'll'l extend through vertically elongated slots inthe face of the box 71 as mentioned previously. Each of these wheels isa means for moving the carrier means trained thereabout.

The wheels 111 and their associated apertures 112, 114 may be numberedor otherwise identified to correspond to the number of returns oroverlaps appearing in a drapery or plurality of draperies installed inthe drapery sizer, such numbers or other identification not appearing inthe drawings.

The carrier means 116 may carry dimensional informatlon spaced along thecarrier means in such a manner that, when a particular dimension forareturn or overlap at the upper edge of the drapery is shown in anaperture 112, the desired dimension for the corresponding return oroverlap is shown in the corresponding aperture 114 therebelow. Thenumber which appears in the aperture 114, for instance, will show theamount in inches to increase or decrease the return or overlap at thebottom edge portion of the drapery. The illustrated means 110 nearestthe lefthand side of the box 71 which may be the means for the firstreturn or overlap appearing on a drapery, shows the number 3 in theaperture 112 and the number 2 in the aperture 114. These numbers may beplaced on the carrier means 116 by printing or other such technique. Thedimensional numbers placed on each carrier means 116 are positioned suchthat, for each number appearing in an aperture 112, the number appearingin the'corresponding aperture 114 is a calculated number based upon thespacing and size of pleats and the amount of overlap or return at theupper edge portion of the drapery. Thus, the wheel 111 and the portionof the carrier means 116 visible through the aperture 112 together withthe aperture 112 constitute means for registering the amount of returnor overlap at the upper edge portion of the drapery while the wheel 120and the portion of the carrier means 116 visible through the aperture114 and the aperture 114 constitute cooperating control means fordetermining and registering the proper amount of overlap or return atthe bottom portion of the drapery. In the drapery sizing art, the amountof proper overlap or return at the lower edge of a drapery as comparedto the amount at the upper edge is well known and-the dimensionalnumbers are located on the carrier means 116 in accordance with thiswell known information.

It will be appreciated by those familiar with the drapery sizing artthat the box 71 which may beattached to a cabinet wall to extendvertically is proportioned and designed such that the manually movablewheels 72, 80 and 111 as well as the apertures 76, 82, 112 associatedwith these wheels may be located at a height such that they areconveniently accessible to an operator who is busily engaged inconnecting the upper edge portion of a drapery to the upper frame 22.Then, the apertures 78, 84 and 114, which provide the operatorinformation, may be located to be readily accessible and in view of theoperator when the operator is busily engaged in connecting the loweredge portion of the drapery to the lower frame 50. This is why I specifythat the upper wheels and apertures are associated with the upper framewhile the lower wheels and apertures are associated with the lowerframe.

Heretofore, an operator of a drapery sizer has not had any means forregistering and determining the seam information and the return oroverlap information. Such operators have merely connected the upper edgeportion of a drapery to the upper frame and then have tried to connectthe lower edge portion of the drapery to the lower frame in such amanner that the return or overlap at the lower, right-hand edge of thedrapery was what it should be as compared to the return or overlap atthe upper, right-hand edge of the drapery. If it was not, then theoperator had to take the lower edge portion of the drapery out ofengagement with all of the fingers 52, 54 and readjust the overlap ofthe fingers so that the amount of overlap produced at the lower,right-hand edge of the drapery would be correct. With my equipment, theoperator will know that the amount of overlap of the fingers 52, 54 isnot correct as soon as the first vertical seam fails to appear at theproper numbered position relative to the lower fingers 52, 54. In otherwords, the operator does not have to engage the entire lower edgeportion of the drapery with the fingers 52, 54 to find out whether ornot the fingers have the proper amount of overlap. My system, therefore,has produced extremely advantageous results. In my own drapery cleaningand sizing operation, my system has significantly increased theefficiency of operators. Without my system, a good operator canaccomplish 87 pleats per hour. With my system, the same operator canaccomplish 1 l6 pleats per hour.

Another advantage of my system is that it is a wonderful training aidfor new inexperienced operators of drapery sizers. With my system, a newoperator can quickly learn the relationship of pleats, and overlaps orreturns at the upper edge portion of a drapery with the foldscorresponding to pleats and the returns or overlaps at the lower edgeportion of the drapery.

Finally, while I have shown and described a vertical drapery sizer, itwill be appreciated that my system is applicable to a horizontal draperysizer including separable finger carrying frames, one or both framesbeing horizontally shiftable.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a drapery sizer including a cabinet, upper and lowerframes disposed in said cabinet, at least one of said frames beingshiftable selectively to determine the spacing therebetween for sizingdraperies to the proper length, said upper frame carrying a plurality oflaterally spaced apart first fingers for engaging the upper edge portionof a drapery and said lower frame carrying a plurality of laterallyspaced apart second fingers for engaging the lower edge portion of suchdrapery, said first fingers defining pleat receiving spaces therebetweenproportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats of such draperies aredisposed respectively in adjacent spaces, and said second fingers beingproportioned and designed to engage therebetween lengths of such loweredge portion corresponding respectively to said pleats, and a seamlocating system including indicia means on said second fingersidentifying positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on such pleats, a plurality of first means forregistering the identity of each pleat in which each vertical seam ofsuch a drapery appears, and a plurality of second means for registeringthe position at which such a seam appears in such a pleat.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which each said first means includes afirst wheel associated with said upper frame and a first wheelassociated with said lower frame, carrier means trained about saidwheels, and means providing a first upper aperture associated with saidupper frame and a first lower aperture associated with said lower frame,said carrier means carrying pleat identifying indicia spaced along itslength so that the indicia visible through said first upper aperturecorresponds to indicia visible through said first lower aperture.

4. The combination of claim 3 in which each said second means includes asecond wheel associated with said upper frame and a second wheelassociated with said lower frame, carrier means trained about saidsecond wheels, and means providing a second upper aperture associatedwith said upper frame and a second lower aperture associated with saidlower frame, the last said carrier means carrying position identifyingindicia spaced along its length so that the indicia visible through saidsecond upper aperture corresponds to indicia visible through said secondlower aperture.

5. The combination of claim 4 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which each said third means andcooperating control means include a third wheel associated with saidupper frame and a third wheel associated with said lower frame, carriermeans trained about said third wheels, means providing a third upperaperture associated with said upper frame and a third lower apertureassociated with said lower frame, the last said carrier means carryingreturn or overlap measurement indicia longitudinally spaced along itslength'so that the indicia visible through said third upper aperturecorresponds to indicia visible through said third lower aperture.

7. The combination of claim 2 in which each said first means includes afirst manually movable rotor means associated with said upper frame anda first rotor means associated with said lower frame, carrier meansconnected between said first rotor means to move when said manuallymovable rotor means is moved, and means providing a first upper apertureassociated with said upper frame and a first lower aperture associatedwith said lower frame, said carrier means carrying pleat identifyingindicia spaced along its length so that the indicia visible through saidfirst upper aperture corresponds to the indicia visible through saidfirst lower aperture.

8. The combination of claim 7 in which each said second means includes asecond manually movable rotor means associated with said upper frame anda second rotor means associated with said lower frame, second carriermeans connected between said second rotor means to move when said secondmanually movable rotor means is moved and means providing a second upperaperture associated with said upper frame and a second lower apertureassociated with said lower frame, said second carrier means carryingposition identifying indicia spaced along its length so that the indiciavisible through said second upper aperture corresponds to indiciavisible through said second lower aperture.

9. The combination of claim 8 in which each said third means andcooperating control means include a third manually movable rotor meansassociated with said upper frame and a third rotor means associated withsaid lower frame, third carrier means connected between said third rotormeans to be movable when said third manually movable rotor means ismoved, means providing a third upper aperture associated with said upperframe and a third lower aperture associated with said lower frame, saidthird carrier means carrying return or overlap measurement indicialongitudinally spaced along its length so that the indicia visiblethrough said upper aperture corresponds to indicia visible through saidlower aperture.

10. For use with a drapery sizer including upper and lo er,fr mes, atleast one which is vertically shiftabl se ective y to determine thespacing therebetween, and

10 jacent pleats are disposed respectively in adjacent spaces and thefingers on the lower frame being proportioned and designed to engagetherebetween lengths of such lower edge portion correspondingrespectively to the pleats, a seam registering system comprising indiciameans arranged to be disposed on the fingers of the lower frameidentifying positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on such pleats, a plurality of first means forregistering the identity of each pleat'in which each vertical seamofsuch a drapery appears, and a plurality of second means forregistering the position at which such a seam 1 appears in such a pleat.

11. The invention of claim 10 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.

12. in combination, a drapery sizer including a cabinet, a pair offrames disposed in said cabinet, at least one of said frames beingshiftable selectively to determine the spacing therebetween for sizingdraperies to the proper length, one of said frames carrying a pluralityof spaced apart first fingers for engaging the upper edge portion of adrapery and the other of said frames carrying a plurality of spacedapart second fingers for engaging the lower edge portion of such adrapery, said first fingers defining pleat receiving spaces therebetweenproportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats of such drapery aredisposed respectively in adjacent spaces, and said second fingers beingproportioned and designed to engage therebetween lengths of such loweredge portion corresponding respectively to such pleats, and a seamlocating system including indicia means on said second fingersidentifying positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on such pleats, a plurality of first means forregistering the identity of each pleat in which each vertical seam ofsuch a drapery appears, and a plurality of second means for registeringthe position at which such a seam appears in such a pleat.

13. The combination of claim 12 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.

22 33 UNITED STATES PATENT ewma:

I QEHMQATEI Gi CORRWYETWN Dated October 24 1972 Patent No. 3 I 699 I 674Inventofly!) Howard D. Reed rs in the above-identified patent It iscertified that error appea by corrected as shown below:

and that said Letters Patent are here Column 10 line 3 (Claim 10 line 2)after "one" insert Signed and sealed this 3rd day of July 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.PLETCHER,J R. Rene Tegtmeyer Acting Commissioner of PatentsAttesting Officer

1. In combination, a drapery sizer including a cabinet, upper and lowerframes disposed in said cabinet, at least one of said frames beingshiftable selectively to determine the spacing therebetween for sizingdraperies to the proper length, said upper frame carrying a plurality oflaterally spaced apart first fingers for engaging the upper edge portionof a drapery and said lower frame carrying a plurality of laterallyspaced apart second fingers for engaging the lower edge portion of suchdrapery, said first fingers defining pleat receiving spaces therebetweenproportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats of such draperies aredisposed respectively in adjacent spaces, and said second fingers beingproportioned and designed to engage therebetween lengths of such loweredge portion corresponding respectively to said pleats, and a seamlocating system including indicia means on said second fingersidentifying positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on such pleats, a plurality of first means forregistering the identity of each pleat in which each vertical seam ofsuch a drapery appears, and a plurality of second means for registeringthe position at which such a seam appears in such a pleat.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1 in which each said first means includes a firstwheel associated with said upper frame and a first wheel associated withsaid lower frame, carrier means trained about said wheels, and meansproviding a first upper aperture associated with said upper frame and afirst lower aperture associated with said lower frame, said carriermeans carrying pleat identifying indicia spaced along itS length so thatthe indicia visible through said first upper aperture corresponds toindicia visible through said first lower aperture.
 4. The combination ofclaim 3 in which each said second means includes a second wheelassociated with said upper frame and a second wheel associated with saidlower frame, carrier means trained about said second wheels, and meansproviding a second upper aperture associated with said upper frame and asecond lower aperture associated with said lower frame, the last saidcarrier means carrying position identifying indicia spaced along itslength so that the indicia visible through said second upper aperturecorresponds to indicia visible through said second lower aperture. 5.The combination of claim 4 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.
 6. Thecombination of claim 5 in which each said third means and cooperatingcontrol means include a third wheel associated with said upper frame anda third wheel associated with said lower frame, carrier means trainedabout said third wheels, means providing a third upper apertureassociated with said upper frame and a third lower aperture associatedwith said lower frame, the last said carrier means carrying return oroverlap measurement indicia longitudinally spaced along its length sothat the indicia visible through said third upper aperture correspondsto indicia visible through said third lower aperture.
 7. The combinationof claim 2 in which each said first means includes a first manuallymovable rotor means associated with said upper frame and a first rotormeans associated with said lower frame, carrier means connected betweensaid first rotor means to move when said manually movable rotor means ismoved, and means providing a first upper aperture associated with saidupper frame and a first lower aperture associated with said lower frame,said carrier means carrying pleat identifying indicia spaced along itslength so that the indicia visible through said first upper aperturecorresponds to the indicia visible through said first lower aperture. 8.The combination of claim 7 in which each said second means includes asecond manually movable rotor means associated with said upper frame anda second rotor means associated with said lower frame, second carriermeans connected between said second rotor means to move when said secondmanually movable rotor means is moved and means providing a second upperaperture associated with said upper frame and a second lower apertureassociated with said lower frame, said second carrier means carryingposition identifying indicia spaced along its length so that the indiciavisible through said second upper aperture corresponds to indiciavisible through said second lower aperture.
 9. The combination of claim8 in which each said third means and cooperating control means include athird manually movable rotor means associated with said upper frame anda third rotor means associated with said lower frame, third carriermeans connected between said third rotor means to be movable when saidthird manually movable rotor means is moved, means providing a thirdupper aperture associated with said upper frame and a third loweraperture associated with said lower frame, said third carrier meanscarrying return or overlap measurement indicia longitudinally spacedalong its length so that the indicia visible through said upper aperturecorresponds to indicia visible through said lower aperture.
 10. For usewith a drapery sizer including upper and lower frames, at least onewhich is vertically shiftable selectively to determine the spacingtherebetween, and each of which carries a plurality of laterally spacedapart fingers for engaging, respectively, the upper and lower edgeportions of a drapery, the fingers on the upper frame defining pleatreceiving spaces therebetween proportioned and designed so that adjacentpleats are disposed respectively in adjacent spaces and the fingers onthe lower frame being proportioned and designed to engage therebetweenlengths of such lower edge portion corresponding respectively to thepleats, a seam registering system comprising indicia means arranged tobe disposed on the fingers of the lower frame identifying positionsthereon corresponding respectively to predetermined positions on suchpleats, a plurality of first means for registering the identity of eachpleat in which each vertical seam of such a drapery appears, and aplurality of second means for registering the position at which such aseam appears in such a pleat.
 11. The invention of claim 10 including aplurality of third means for registering the depth of the return oroverlap at the upper edge portion of such a drapery and cooperatingcontrol means for determining and registering the proper amount ofreturn or overlap at the lower edge portion of such a drapery, saidcontrol means being operatively connected to and operated respectivelyby said third means.
 12. In combination, a drapery sizer including acabinet, a pair of frames disposed in said cabinet, at least one of saidframes being shiftable selectively to determine the spacing therebetweenfor sizing draperies to the proper length, one of said frames carrying aplurality of spaced apart first fingers for engaging the upper edgeportion of a drapery and the other of said frames carrying a pluralityof spaced apart second fingers for engaging the lower edge portion ofsuch a drapery, said first fingers defining pleat receiving spacestherebetween proportioned and designed so that adjacent pleats of suchdrapery are disposed respectively in adjacent spaces, and said secondfingers being proportioned and designed to engage therebetween lengthsof such lower edge portion corresponding respectively to such pleats,and a seam locating system including indicia means on said secondfingers identifying positions thereon corresponding respectively topredetermined positions on such pleats, a plurality of first means forregistering the identity of each pleat in which each vertical seam ofsuch a drapery appears, and a plurality of second means for registeringthe position at which such a seam appears in such a pleat.
 13. Thecombination of claim 12 including a plurality of third means forregistering the depth of the return or overlap at the upper edge portionof such a drapery and cooperating control means for determining andregistering the proper amount of return or overlap at the lower edgeportion of such a drapery, said control means being operativelyconnected to and operated respectively by said third means.